Dirrangun's Waterhole

We've spent the past week relaxing and enjoying some beautiful weather in the Clarence Valley, around the towns of Iluka, Yamba, Maclean and Grafton. The Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl nations are the traditional custodians of the land and waterways in the valley.

It's a beautiful part of NSW and we were surprised to see no noticeable signs of flood damage after the Clarence broke its banks in March this year, flooding parts of Grafton, Maclean and many smaller low-lying communities. It's an indication of the resilience of the people who live here.

The Clarence itself is one of the more impressive rivers we've seen on our travels. It's wide and deep, flowing around islands, through gorges and with dozens of channels spreading out to the sea like tendrils. Like most great rivers, there's a Dreamtime legend that describes how the Clarence - or Boorimbah - came to be. This is the story of Boorimbah as told by the Bundjalung people.

In the Dreamtime, Dirrangun lived at the bottom of a mountain. Dirrangun was an old woman and each day she climbed the mountain to drink from a waterhole. But she was a selfish woman and would not let anyone else drink from the waterhole. One day she became sick and told a young man to climb the mountain and bring some water to her. But she warned him not to tell anyone where he was going and not to drink any water himself. When the man got to the waterhole at the top of the mountain he saw that Dirrangun had built a big rock wall so that the water couldn't flow down the mountain for other people to drink.

So the young man moved the rocks and the water started running down the mountain. When Dirrangun heard the water rushing down the mountain she created another mountain to try and stop the flow of water. Then she moved mountains and rocks into the path of the water. She continued making in islands and mountains to try and stop the water, but it was rushing so fast that nothing could stop it and the water flowed all the way to Yamba. Finally, Dirrangun turned herself into a big stone but the water just flowed over the top of her. So, being a selfish woman, she cursed the water, making it salty so that no one else could drink it.

And that's the story of how Boorimbah came to be. Dirrangun's efforts to stop the water can be seen in the islands, gorges, channels and rock formations along the length of the river.

Many of them are within national park so we didn't get up close, but we did enjoy the bits that weren't. Here are some pics of the highlights.